The Titanic Museum in Branson

The Titanic Museum at Branson, Missouri, is a two story museum dedicated to the doomed ship, shaped like the RMS Titanic itself. The museum is housed inside a half-scale replica of the front half of the ship, and is anchored in a small pool of water to create the illusion of the Titanic at sea. A stucco iceberg is wedged into the side of the ship and acts as the entrance. Inside, there are more replicas - the ship's Grand Staircase, the Dinning Hall, First Class and Third Class cabins, the bridge and about 400 artifacts from the wreck of the ship displayed in 20 different rooms. It also has various interactive exhibits such as a touchable iceberg, the Captain's bridge from where the ship is steered, the Telegraph room from where one can send SOS message, and lots of actors dressed as the crew.

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Photo credit: Titanic Museum

As you enter the Titanic, you'll be handed a ticket with the name of one of the actual passengers who sailed the ship. You won’t find out whether you lived or died, until almost to the end of the self-guided tour, when you reach the Memorial Wall where is displayed the names of all the 2,208 passengers and their stories. All throughout the ship costumed characters wander about: men in double-breasted officer uniforms, women dressed as chambermaids, and of course, the ship’s Captain himself. Audio recordings of foghorns, clanking bells, and muffled voices played back from hidden speakers create a make-believe atmosphere.

One exciting highlight of the Branson Missouri Titanic Museum is the full-scale replica of the Grand Staircase, which was constructed from the original blue prints at a cost of over one million dollars. You ascend the staircase to get to First Class where you'll see a sumptuous suite of rooms. The Captain’s bridge is nearby where you can try your hand at steering the ship. Downstairs are the cramped Third Class cabins and an engine room boiler. Here you are encouraged to place a shovel with glued-on coal into the boiler elicits for a satisfying whoosh of combustion.

The Sinking Room has a series of progressively steep sloping decks where you are invited to stand, a lifeboat in which you can sit, and a bowl of salt water at a chilling 28 degree where you can immerse a finger and time your endurance with a nearby clock. It helps you to understand why nearly everyone in the water quickly succumbed.

Finally, there is a gift shop, which sells souvenirs and oddities such a luggage tags labeled “Titanic”.

The Titanic Museum at Branson is one of the two Titanic-themed museums owned by John Joslyn, who headed a 1987 expedition to Titanic's final resting place. The other is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and is similar to the one in Branson.

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